MARTIN BOWLER: Record Cru­cian

IN 2003 Martin Bowler proved his cre­den­tials as one of the coun­try’s bright­est spec­i­men fish­ing prospects when he landed a Bri­tish record-break­ing 4lb 9oz cru­cian.

The Angling Times colum­nist took the gi­ant fish along with an­other heavy­weight weigh­ing 4lb dur­ing an overnight ses­sion on a still­wa­ter in Yate­ley, Hamp­shire. The in­cred­i­ble fish beat the pre­vi­ous best caught by Jay Allen in 2000 by a mere ounce, and gave the Wilt­shire based an­gler the sec­ond record of his ca­reer.

Amaz­ingly, Martin net­ted his prize af­ter vis­it­ing the wa­ter for only the sec­ond time, tempt­ing the spec­i­men on a mag­got feeder rig us­ing maize on the hook. The record stood un­til 2015, when Steve Frap­well and Michael James both net­ted 4lb 10oz spec­i­mens.